For the selection, the committee considered cooking and execution, experience and innovation.

The guide describes itself as “China’s own Michelin guide.” But while the French gastronomic bible releases selections for Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau and Taipei, the rest of China’s diverse culinary heritage goes ignored.

Like the three-tiered Michelin system, the Black Pearl guides also award restaurants on a scale of one to three, with three diamonds denoting the top dining destinations.

This year, 20 restaurants received top nods, while 77 restaurants earned two diamonds and 190 restaurants were given a single diamond.

The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide is published by Meituan Dianping, an e-commerce service-oriented platform in China.